The recent years have seen a dramatic proliferation of cellular phones and PHS (Personal Handyphone System). In the case of the cellular phone and the like, a user having purchased a device needs to mount a connector of an integral battery to a connector of a base or the like. Furthermore, when the life of the battery expires, the user usually replaces it with a new one.
Thus, the connector is mounted or removed by such a user who is not accustomed to the handling of the connectors. There may be a case where an inadequate connection between contacts results from an inadequate coupling between the connectors. If an excessive force is applied to extract the socket connector, the contact or the base may be damaged.
On the other hand, there is a demand for a connector having a low profile when mounted. A top-type connector assembly wherein the socket connector is extracted upward from the base connector generally has a great height of the whole connector bodies because electric wires are also located at an upper portion of the assembly.
A side-type connector assembly wherein the socket connector is extracted laterally from the base connector can achieve the reduction of the height of the whole connector bodies because the electric wires also extend laterally. However, it is practically difficult to laterally extract the socket connector in a state where the connector assembly is incorporated into a device.
In this connection, an increasing number of cellular phones employ a system wherein the socket connector is extracted upward whereas the wires extend laterally. The system is a so-called compromise between the above types of connector assemblies.
In the compromise system, however, the socket connector is difficult to extract because the direction of extracting the socket connector differs from the direction in which the wires extend. Furthermore, there is a fear of damaging both the connectors by forcibly extracting the socket connector.